Thread: Which Chisel Mortiser - small or big?

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

I just bought a H&F W345 from Gumtree on the recommendation of this thread so I'll know who to blame if it is no good!

Was that the one in Sydney for $1200? Basically brand new (not sure why the guy bought it and never used it?). Good deal.

I had a holding order for one from H&F for sale price of $1540- but after calling Carbatec this morning and finding out they only had 1 Jet 719as left in stock (in Melb), at 20% off, and may not be getting more, I panicked and paid for one. Never got to see the M-25 / W345 in the end . Hopefully I don't regret my decision either.

Cheers, Dom

just get the biggest you can.

I never looked back with my mortiser purchase, it weighs close to a ton.

the tilt is useless unless you do something fancy, my mortiser can til but have I never used it.

the heating of the mortiser bit is an issue. that is something inevitable and one of the reasons made me move to swing chisel mortiser.

There is another on Gumtree in Berry NSW for $900 . Pretty fresh looking too.

Originally Posted by DomAU

Was that the one in Sydney for $1200? Basically brand new (not sure why the guy bought it and never used it?). Good deal.

I had a holding order for one from H&F for sale price of $1540- but after calling Carbatec this morning and finding out they only had 1 Jet 719as left in stock (in Melb), at 20% off, and may not be getting more, I panicked and paid for one. Never got to see the M-25 / W345 in the end . Hopefully I don't regret my decision either.

Cheers, Dom

No, I think it was put on GT for $900 ONO and I saw it soon after, I have never looked on GT for a mortiser so It must have been meant for me.

Originally Posted by Chris Parks

I just bought a H&F W345 from Gumtree on the recommendation of this thread so I'll know who to blame if it is no good!

Your going to love it !
There a top heavy little thing . I nearly lost control of mine taking it up stairs the day I bought it back to work. Came very close .

Rob

Originally Posted by DomAU

Usually, I cut my tenons using the band-saw to cut the cheeks, and a hand-saw to cut the shoulders. I then use a shoulder plane to trim the shoulders and a combination of shoulder plane and/or router plane to trim the tenon cheeks (I now have a rabbet block & bench rabbet plane so will use these to trim tenon cheeks in future).


Cheers,

Dom

That will get them done . I first started that way but as things progressed the next step was the dewalt radial arm saw . A stop. Set up and just flip the rail and do a lot of cuts until it hits the stop . Then it was cleaned up with chisel and planes if needed and the huanch put in with bandsaw . That worked but drove me nuts watching apprentices trying to get it right all the time . So years later I built a twin router tenon cutter. That was ok but a bit of stuffing around to set up , I used that about five years. Then I bought a bigger better home made three phase twin motor tenon cutter. Made by a Comercial gate maker . That was a lot better . That lasted around four years and I then went and got a second hand Wadkin ECA tenon cutter, sold the home made one back on eBay and it went to Sydney . Advertised it the right way and made a small profit ! The Wadkin is the cast iron Rolls Royce of wood machines . If I had that a lot earlier things would have been a lot easier.
Rob

My Oak doors are coming together . Just adding moldings . Can't load pictures ATM .
All mortised on the first of my machines . 3/8 chisel which is in the previous pictures . When you get one of these machines you do a little more thsn just plunge and move along . You would discover this yourself after one or two goes. The chisel is fitted so the waste gap points left or right . It's supposed to ease waste dispersal as it ejects waste into an open space if you start from the correct side . The other thing is as yo plunge , when you get to the bottom shift the piece left or right to clear and smooth the very bottom . I do this as I go along , then start again and sweep left to right and right to left . Done right and at the most there will be a tiny amount of waste left at each end for a chisel to clean out .

Picked up the Jet 719AS chisel mortiser this afternoon. Made a mobile base and set it up, but haven't got my chisel bits yet . Everything appears to be in order and the machine seems reasonably well built.

Pics don't seem to be uploading for the last few hours.

Cheers,

Dom

Like Dom I am going to build a mobile base for mine which I picked up yesterday. The mention of it being top heavy concerns me a bit as despite having a counter weight in the base the high centre of gravity is a problem. I think I might make a box base and fill it with sand to give it a bit more stability.

That would be a good idea Chris . I have mine on wheels but they are a little soft and a wider footprint would be better than what I did . I like the idea of welding and casting concrete around bases. I did it once for a nice big face plate lathe . Worked good but a fair bit more work and you have to have the gear and time .

Auscab, how do you find the working height? I am only 5'4" and it appears to me that raising it a fair but might be a good idea though if I do that a rolling base is out as it would be dangerous to move.

My one is 125mm off the ground . It's good to use . If your the only one moving it you can be careful with it . The only thing I think you need to be able to do is reach the top of the lever , other ones I raised are almost getting a bit high at the lever handle.
I had younger guys working with mine so with them pushing it around day dreaming it tipped over twice . Once it hit the wooden floor . The second time the guy grabbed it and I rushed to help get it upright while the other young guy stood next to him and was telling him to let it go . We had a few talks about it and it never happened again . I think it's one of the machines that is good to be able to move around .
Rob

Door Pictures.
Mortises all done with my mortiser same as the H&F M 25. Tenons cut on the Wadkin tenoner. Slots cut wit a Jet spindle moulder with an adjustable slot cutter fitted. Mouldings cut on the Jet as well. Hand ground pair of cutters for mouldings ground in shop from a pair of HSS blanks purchased from Mcjing. Panels beveled to fit slot on Wadkin Bursgreen 10 AGS Table saw. Diamonds to panels cut and molded on Wadkin LQ over head borer and recessor.
All surfaces cleaned up with a stanley 3 , a Stanley Spoke shave and Cabinet scraper before assembly .
They are going into a two tier / Buffet du corps french style tv cabinet.

Rob

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Pics working again! Mobile base - couple of layers of 18 mm scrap form-ply that were sitting outside destined for the bin. Some scrap blackbutt for edging. Was initially planning on making the base oversize for more stability but scrap formply wasn't large enough and it seems plenty stable in any case. I use the Carbatec 700lb mobile bases but scrap the steel straps/frame and build the corner brackets/wheels into a stiff plywood base.

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Mortiser was well packed, but much heavier, awkward and difficult to lift out of the Ute and onto the stand than I expected! The whole machine, including base, is only 126 kg, but the base is only 10 kg and the actual mortiser is 116 kg.

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Everything seems to be nice and square and x-y table and column work smoothly, if a little tight. Not sure if I will loosen the gib strips or leave it tight / let it wear in a little.

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I do like the quick-clamp, which allows you to push / pull the clamp into place quickly and it locks the thread once you apply some clamping pressure.

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Table is relatively low - pretty much same as the Laguna Bandsaw - which is low for resawing. I think I like the low-height.

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Trying to figure out where it will live. Want to have some plumbed in dust collection for it as well.

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Chuck.

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Powermatic initials in the castings. Seems to confirm that it is the same machine as a Powermatic except for the colour.

Overall I'm pretty impressed and happy with the machine from first impressions. I'll know more once I actually get my chisels delivered from Lee Valley and get to try it out.

Cheers,

Dom